NOD 8 – Initiation of Bhaktin Sanskriti Munshi

Giriraj Swami: So, on initiation day, Srila Prabhupada would speak about the ten offenses because you are being initiated into the chanting of the holy names, and to get the full benefit, you need to chant without offense. So, I will read the list.

This is from the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, Chapter Eight, “Offenses to be Avoided.”

In the Padama-Purana, it is stated that even a person whose life is completely sinful will be completely protected by the Lord if he simply surrenders unto Him. So, it is accepted that one who surrenders unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead becomes free from all sinful reactions, as Krishna says,

sarva-dharmān parityajya
mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja
ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo
mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ

 And even when a person becomes an offender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself, he can still be delivered simply by taking shelter of the holy names of the Lord.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

In other words, the chanting of Hare Krishna is beneficial for eradicating all sins. But if one becomes an offender to the holy names of the Lord, then he has no chance of being delivered. The offenses against the chanting of the holy name are as follows:

(1) To blaspheme the devotees who have dedicated their lives for propagating the holy name of the Lord, it is called sādhu-nindā.

(2) To consider the names of demigods like Lord Śiva or Lord Brahmā to be equal to, or independent of, the name of Lord Viṣṇu. (Sometimes the atheistic class of men take it that any demigod is as good as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu. But one who is a devotee knows that no demigod, however great he may be, is independently as good as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore, if someone thinks that he can chant “Kālī, Kālī!” or “Durgā, Durgā!”and it is the same as Hare Kṛṣṇa, that is the greatest offense.) 

(3) To disobey the orders of the spiritual master, called guror avajñā.

(4) To blaspheme the Vedic literature or literature in pursuance of the Vedic version.

(5) To consider the glories of chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa to be imagination.

(6) To give some interpretation on the holy name of the Lord.

(7) To commit sinful activities on the strength of the holy name of the Lord. (It should not be taken that because by chanting the holy name of the Lord one can be freed from all kinds of sinful reaction, one may continue to act sinfully and after that chant Hare Kṛṣṇa to neutralize his sins. Such a dangerous mentality is very offensive and should be avoided.)

(8) To consider the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa one of the auspicious ritualistic activities offered in the Vedas as fruitive activities (karma-kāṇḍa).

(9) To instruct a faithless person about the glories of the holy name. (Anyone can take part in chanting the holy name of the Lord, but in the beginning one should not be instructed about the transcendental potency of the Lord. Those who are too sinful cannot appreciate the transcendental glories of the Lord, and therefore it is better not to instruct them in this matter.)

(10) To not have complete faith in the chanting of the holy names and to maintain material attachments, even after understanding so many instructions on this matter.

So, these two go together because if you do have complete faith in the chanting of the holy names, you will know that the holy names can fulfill all your desires and satisfy you if we respect and thus, there would be no reason to maintain material attachments.

Now, as Srila Prabhupada set up the morning program, after maṅgala-ārati and before japa, the devotees read the list of the ten offenses. Usually, after reading the list, the devotees also say, “It is also an offense to be inattentive while chanting.” Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura in his book Harināma-cintāmaṇi, discusses the ten offenses, and Sanskrit is such a language that it can be broken up in different ways. So, he has found the ninth offense to be inattention, and he says that if one chants attentively, all the other offenses will be destroyed. And if one is inattentive while chanting, all the other offenses can flourish. So, the main thing is to be attentive when we chant.

Every devotee who claims to be a Vaishnava must guard against these offenses in order to quickly achieve the desired success.

So now, we will come to your taking of vows and receiving new beads, which have been chanted on by me, and your new name. So, what are the four regulative principles that you vow to follow every day for the rest of your life?

Devotee: [Unintelligible]

Giriraj Swami: Okay, and how many rounds?

Devotee: [Unintelligible]

Giriraj Swami: Good, jaya. And is there anything else you would like to say on this auspicious occasion?

Devotee: [Unintelligible]

Giriraj Swami: Wonderful, beautiful, Thank you. So on behalf of Srila Prabhupada and the guru-paramparā, I am pleased to accept you as my duly initiated disciple and henceforth you shall be known as Shamesvari dasi. Shamesvar is the name of Srimati Radharani that means she is the queen of Sham.

Shamesvari dasi ki jaya!